A Few Affiliate Marketing Mistakes

Affiliate Marketing is one of the most powerful and effective ways to make money online. Affiliate programs give you the chance to make money without the hassle of setting up your own products. Affiliate programs are very simple to find, and easy to join.

Just like any business, there are pitfalls when it comes to Internet Marketing. For some reason a lot of people jump into affiliate marketing without thinking things through, and end up making a lot of mistakes. In this article I am going to point out a few common mistakes that affiliate marketers most often make.

1: A lot of people choose the WRONG Affiliate program.

Most People want to earn money as fast as they can, and end up choosing a product without thinking about what the product is, and how they are going to promote it. (A lot of people will pick a product or service just because they think it is in high demand… THAT IS THEIR FIRST MISTAKE.)

Don’t just grab up any affiliate program you can get your hands on. Try to pick a product which is based on a subject that you have an interest in, or at least a subject that you know something about. If you pick a subject that you know (e.g. website design) you are more likely going to find it easier to promote, because you can look at the product and decide if it is something that is worth promoting. You should also take the time to research the product, and then plan how you are going to effectively promote your affiliate product.

2: Some people Join TOO MANY affiliate programs.

Affiliate programs are easy to join, and there is an affiliate program for just about every subject in existence from walking a dog, to specific holiday companies, there are just too many to count. A lot of people who are new to affiliate marketing have a tendency to sign up to loads of affiliate programs in the hope of making more money.

Although having multiple streams of income from many different affiliate programs can be beneficial, I would not recommend anyone who is new to affiliate marketing to try it. This is because you will not have the necessary skills to be able to manage running so many programs at once. I would recommend 3 maybe 4 different products for your first attempt at affiliate marketing.

Once you have got used to promoting these 3 or 4 products, and running a fairly smooth operation, you can then try to do 1 or 2 more, and then as you gain more experience you will be able to do more and more. I know that this technique is slow, but it is better to start slow and earn a little bit of money, than it is to rush and earn no money.

3: Some Affiliate Marketers do not Buy or Use the Product they are trying to promote.

As an affiliate you are trying to promote a product or service effectively in an effort to convince people to buy. To do this properly you need to be able to provide your customers with relevant information. It is difficult to promote a product or service that you have never used, and you are more likely to fail, because you do not know enough about your product or service to convince enough people to purchase it.

You should always try out the product or service you are trying to promote. Doing this will open up different advertising insights, and give you a chance to see if the product or service does what it says it does.

To many affiliate marketers make the 3 simple mistakes above, and they usually end up paying the price for it.

Remember to take your time, there is no rush. If you take a good look at your product or service, and take the time to think things through, you will be able to maximize your marketing strategy, and increase your profits.

I have been involved in internet marketing for a few years as a freelance consultant working for small and developing businesses training their staff in the basics of internet marketing.